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From the TurfNet NewsDesk

  • John Reitman
    After years of planning and a lengthy approval process, an apprenticeship program for aspiring turfgrass managers in New York has just about hit the halfway mark with its inaugural class.
    The New York State Turfgrass Association Apprenticeship Program is a 24-month program for those seeking to improve their turf management skills through a carefully selected curriculum of classroom instruction and on-the-job training.
    The program, which was developed through a collaborative effort that includes NYSTA staff, the New York Department of Labor, faculty at SUNY-Delhi and Tyler Bloom of Bloom Golf Partners, the program's administrator, consists of 19 college credits and 4,000 hours of on-the-job training.
    More than two years in the planning and development process, the program was approved by the NY Department of Labor in December 2023, and the first group of a dozen students enrolled last fall, and will finish the course in May 2026, said NYSTA executive director Sue VanAmburgh.
    "It took about two years before it was finalized with the New York Department of Labor," VanAmburgh said. "It was quite a process to get it approved.
    "Since then, it has been a learning process for them and us."
    Most of the students enrolled in the program currently work on golf courses. The bulk of the education takes place in a virtual classroom. However, one week each semester all 12 are required to attend classes in person for lab work, with accommodations in university housing.
    "They really seem to enjoy that," VanAmburgh said. "They get a chance to network with each other and stay in touch when they go back home."
    The apprenticeship is designed primarily for would-be turf managers who lack a two-year or four-year degree, but need the skills acquired in college to further their careers. 
    The cost of enrolling in the program typically is paid by the employer, which qualifies them for $7,000 in tax incentives. On-the-job training takes place at the golf course where each student already works, but what they do each day no differs from their pre-apprenticeship day-to-day routine, and a qualified instructor or mentor on staff will oversee the process to ensure that work is completed in a manner that would satisfy state DOL requirements. Hours worked on the job count toward that 4,000-hour total.
    "It's mostly for people who want to go further in their education but couldn't," VanAmburgh said. "It goes both ways: It's a good thing for the student, and it's a good thing for you as the employer."
    On-site training is a combination performing and learning the following:
    Project management, drainage, grading and sodding Methods of aerification General small-engine maintenance Trim trees/shrubs using hand and power-operated equipment Field maintenance Adjustment and repair to irrigation/voltage lighting systems Facility and field upkeep Water management Daily maintenance and projects Application of fertilizers, herbicides or insecticides Golf course maintenance, or sports field maintenance NYSTA needed a Guinea pig to go through the program on sort of a Beta process, and Ryan Bain of Noyac Golf Club in Sag Harbor, New York, was only happy to comply, going through the program from 2022-24.
    "I knew the program was just starting, but someone had to be first," Bain said. ". There was some unknown along the way, but I had a great support system between the team at Noyac, Delhi and NYSTA. Any time I had questions someone was there to answer them and guide me through the process."
    When Bain was hired at Noyac four years ago under superintendent Brian Goleski, CGCS, part of the onboarding was sending him to a two-year program at Rutgers or Penn State.

    Above, Ryan Bain, now the assistant superintendent Noyac Golf Club in Sag Harbor, New York,  is the first student to successfully complete the New York State Turfgrass Association Apprenticeship Program. Top, Bain installs sod as part of the apprenticeship program that allows students to gain classroom instruction and valuable on-the-job training in a variety of areas at their current place of employment. Below, Bain works on tree management at Noyac Golf Club. All photos courtesy of Ryan Bain
    "Ultimately, we chose the apprenticeship so I could stay on property full time and develop my skills in real-life applications," Bain said. "The apprenticeship seemed to have more advantages than disadvantages for the club because I could continue working, learning and being productive while taking classes. It was advantageous to me personally, because I continued collecting a paycheck while enrolled and did not have to go without income while furthering my education. I already had a bachelor's degree in business with which the apprenticeship coupled perfectly. I knew I was comfortable with online education, and could handle the workload."
    Through the program, he has improved his turf management skills, such as turf, disease and pest identification and treatment, water flow and pump station operation and soil chemistry, while never missing a day of work.
    "On the job, I was able to apply all these things, as well as learn how to operate every piece of equipment we use, install and maintain irrigation systems, manage people, scheduling to maximize manpower, budgeting, and so much more," he said.
    The seeds for the apprenticeship program first were planted in 2018 when NYSTA first discussed expanding educational opportunities for NYSTA members and turf managers throughout the state as part of a new strategic plan. Developing an education component fell on the shoulders of board member and retired SUNY Delhi instructor Dom Morales.
    It was Morales who brought Bloom, a former superintendent whose consulting firm specializes in, among other things, career development.
    "We heard the complaints from our members," Morales told TurfNet after the inaugural class started last year. "For every intern candidate there were eight to 10 openings. We couldn't fill them all. University turf schools once were accused of flooding the market with assistant candidates. Now, there is a drought of good, qualified people.
    "Approval from the DOL gives the program credibility. There is on-the-job training and related instruction, and everything is documented. Graduates get a certificate that proves they have these skills. 
    "It's a new way of educating turf professionals and getting them into the field with the knowledge to move up. We hope that employers see it as having someone on their crew who has potential, but can't go back to college. I think it's a win-win."
    Being the first person, albeit as a test pilot of sorts, to successfully complete the program already has paid dividends for Bain, whose career goals include, but are not limited to, becoming a head superintendent and perhaps dabbling in course design work.
    "I also love the game of golf and have considered pursuing a career with the USGA," he said. "The apprenticeship has already opened doors that would not have been possible otherwise. Immediately upon completing the program I was invited to apply for a head superintendent position. While that job did not work out, there will certainly be more opportunities in the next year and following years."
  • It is not often, if ever, that a golf course superintendent is recognized by a government agency for their work
    South Carolina’s House of Representatives recently honored the career of golf course superintendent Chuck Green when it presented the longtime superintendent with a resolution at the State House in Columbia.
    (Pictured at right: South Carolina Rep. Roger Kirby (left) presents Chuck Green with a resolution recognizing his contributions during a career as a golf course superintendent that has spanned more than 40 years.)
    Green, who is director of operations at Quixote Club in Sumter, is a past president of the Carolinas Golf Course Superintendents Association. The Carolinas GCSA sustained unprecedented growth during his tenure as president, prompting the association to honor Green with its Distinguished Service Award last November.
    In a 40-year career, Green was superintendent at Florence Country Club and Columbia Country Club. In 2000, he grew-in Sage Valley Golf Club in Graniteville, South Carolina, where he remained for 19 years. He was named operations manager at Sunset Country Club in 2019 where he headed up the transition to the reinvented Quixote Club. Part of that transition was a $13 million renovation in 2020.
    "I am deeply honored that the House of Representatives would choose to do this," Green said in a news release. "And at the same time, I am proud that the golf course profession has come so far that our state’s leaders would recognize the work we do. So many people have helped me in my career and so many have helped advance the profession. I hope they all take some pride in this because they should."
    Green also played a lead role in helping advance turfgrass research in the Carolinas. He played a pivotal role in the establishment of Clemson University's Pee Dee Research and Education Center in Florence, South Carolina, which became synonymous with the work of retired Clemson plant pathologist Bruce Martin, Ph.D.
    The Clemson research center was established in 1911 in Darlington, South Carolina, but was reinvented in 1985 in its current location in Florence. Until 1985, Martin's research focused primarily on corn, cotton, sorghum and tobacco.
    "(W)ithout Chuck's intervention and willingness to intercede and plead my case it would have been unlikely that we would ever have built our program at Florence," Martin wrote last year in nominating Green for the award.
    The House resolution read in part: "…with much admiration, the House takes great pleasure in applauding Chuck Green on receiving such a highly coveted accolade as the Carolinas Golf Course Superintendents Association Distinguished Service Award." The resolution was introduced by Rep. Roger Kirby, D-Florence, and carried 111 sponsors.
    The resolution cited highlights of Green’s 40-plus year career in golf course maintenance including his role in growing the Carolinas GCSA and helping transform the association’s annual conference and trade show into the country's largest regional golf course superintendent event.
    The resolution also noted that Green received support for his nomination for the prestigious GCSA Distinguished Service Award through an unprecedented 36 letters from fellow past presidents, turfgrass researchers, industry partners, and fellow superintendents, some of whom he mentored.
  • For turf managers looking for an easy-to-use tool to help them identify and manage grassy and broadleaf weeds on golf courses and athletic fields, the University of Tennessee recently released the updated version of its mobile weed guide.
    The University of Tennessee Mobile Weed Manual can help users identify weeds and offers tips on how to control them. Designed to help users select the proper herbicide for use in turf and in ornamentals, the free guide is available on the App Store and Google Play for use on phones and tablets. A desktop version also is available.
    Users can find pests and solutions cross-referenced by weed, turfgrass species and herbicides. 
    Digital images help users with identification of 49 grassy weeds and 81 broadleaf weed species. The guide also provides detailed information on each weed in the guide, including a description of size and growth habits, and where and under what conditions each thrives. Complete with a new user interface, the guide includes labels and safety data sheet information for more than 160 pre- and post-emergent herbicides and mixes.
    The guide also offers efficacy and tolerance data for herbicides on 21 turfgrass varieties of turfgrasses and more than 2,000 ornamental species.
  • Golf often is the center of political turmoil.
    Topics like use of pesticides, fertilizers and water as well as habitat management are among the usual reasons golf is typically in the crosshairs of those attempting to curry favor with voters.
    The game's antagonists say golf courses use too much water, contaminate the soil and water table with synthetic chemicals and fertilizers and are a waste of land that could be used for the greater good.
    That last item has become especially poignant in New York City politics where a candidate vying to be the city's next mayor has his sights set on the public golf inventory to help solve the local housing shortage.
    NYC comptroller Brad Lander, a candidate in an otherwise crowded mayoral field, is running on a campaign that includes building a half-million new housing units in the next decade. Calling his plan "a hole-in-one" Lander says he wants to use four of New York's 12 city-owned golf courses to provide space for about a tenth of that proposed increase in housing inventory.
    "When I'm mayor, we'll build new neighborhoods on just four of the city's 12 municipal golf courses," Lander said in a campaign video. "It would mean we could create 50,000 new homes for New Yorkers to rent or buy."
    The city's dozen golf courses comprise about 2,500 acres across four of New York's five boroughs, and Lander has yet to publicly identify which of the city's four golf courses he would like to repurpose. His campaign, however, has released a 36-page document on his plan to solve the city's housing dilemma that cites outdated data about the game's popularity.
    The document reads: "The popularity of golf has waned over the past twenty years; between 2003 and 2018, the number of golfers declined nationally by 6.8 million or 22% and the number of golfers at half of the City's municipal golf courses dropped by 17% between 2008 and 2018."
    That data, while accurate, also is flawed given the game's resurgence during and after the Covid pandemic.
    Since 2020, records have been set nationwide for rounds played and the overall number of players in the game. This year's state of the industry report given annually at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando by Jim Koppenhaver and Stuart Lindsay also indicates a substantial boost in the number of younger players and women in the game.

    Clearview Park Golf Course in Queens is in the shadows of the Throgs Neck Bridge. Golf NYC photo Koppenhaver says any pre-Covid numbers on golf are out of date. Not only is the game's popularity up nationwide since the pandemic, interest in golf in New York City is outpacing the national average, he said.
    "Our sources/calculations indicate there's just under 20 million rounds played annually in the NYC Core Business Statistical Area by the end of calendar year 2023," Koppenhaver wrote by email. 
    "The cumulative growth in rounds from 2019-23 was about 25%. That represents a compound annual change rate of about 6% per annum. In summary, (golf) post-Covid is growing at a healthy rate and slightly higher than the national average on those growth rate metrics."
    Even the city's own website seems to refute Lander's claims of the game's popularity. All the courses on the New York City golf website have a link to get on a waitlist for tee times.
    The New York State Turfgrass Association has released a statement in opposition to Lander's plan for municipal golf.
    The letter states: "New York City's municipal golf courses offer accessible and affordable recreational opportunities across the five boroughs. These 12 public courses accommodate golfers of all skill levels, promoting physical activity, mental well-being, and outdoor engagement. Mr. Lander argues that golf participation has declined, citing outdated statistics from 2003 to 2018. However, he conveniently omits the sport's resurgence in recent years. In New York, golf rounds surged by over 20% during COVID-19, and demand remains strong, with the National Golf Foundation reporting a seventh consecutive annual increase in participation, reaching over 28 million golfers in 2024. This growing interest underscores the increasing need for public golf facilities in urban areas."
    Click here to read the letter in its entirety.
    According to the National Golf Foundation, those numbers might be even higher.
    "It appears that New York rounds (for 2024) would be up approximately 40% compared to 2019. This is higher than the national average (+22%)," wrote NGF editorial director Erik Matuszewski by email.
    "The New York City average would at least be similar in direction, but likely slightly under the +40%."
    The race for mayor is a crowded field that includes incumbent Eric Adams, former governor Andrew Cuomo, assemblyman Michael Blake, comedian Corinne Fisher, assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, state senator Zellnor Myrie, state senator Jessica Ramos, former comptroller Scott Stringer and hedge fund manager Whitney Tilson.
    Election Day in New York is Nov. 4.
  • The herbicide Roundup remains a tool for professional turf managers and for use in agriculture, but its future drifts further into uncertainty with each successive lawsuit lodged against the company that manufactures it.
    A Georgia jury recently ordered Bayer, the parent company of Roundup maker Monsanto, to pay $2.065 billion in damages to a man who says the weedkiller caused his cancer.
    The Georgia decision is the latest in a long line of lawsuits brought against Bayer, which acquired Monsanto in 2018 for $63 million. Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, has been blamed for causing non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in thousands of people since 2019. 
    John Barnes filed suit against Bayer/Monsanto in 2021, saying the weedkiller caused his non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Bayer representatives said the company, based in Leverkusen, Germany, will appeal the decision.
    Roundup was patented by Monsanto in 1971 and became commercially available in 1974. In that time, it had become the world's most popular weedkiller because of its effectiveness. Bayer began fending off lawsuits within months of acquiring the company that had been based in St. Louis.
    Since the first complaint was filed in 2019, more than 177,000 suits have been filed against Bayer/Monsanto, thousands of which were settled for nearly $11 billion in 2020. That sum was increased to $16 billion last June.

    Roundup is a popular herbicide for cleaning up winter weeds in dormant warm-season turf on golf courses. The Houston-based law firm of Arnold & Itkin released the following statement: "Today’s verdict is another example of Bayer's refusal to accept responsibility for poisoning people with its toxic weed-killer Roundup. Our firms have now tried four separate cases to verdict for four different cancer victims and each jury has awarded punitive damages against Bayer for its wrongful conduct. Hopefully, today’s verdict causes Bayer's leadership to fully and finally take accountability for injuring so many families."
    In 2023, Bayer announced it would pull glyphosate-based Roundup from the consumer and lawn and garden markets, replacing the active ingredient with a combination of four chemicals — fluazifop-P-butyl, triclopyr, diquat dibromide and imazapic. The original formulation remains available for the agriculture and professional markets — for now.
    Bayer representatives have repeatedly said the weedkiller is safe in accordance with label directions. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency conducted a regulatory review of Roundup in 2020 and concluded the herbicide is not a carcinogen.
    The company released a statement saying the Georgia decision: "We disagree with the jury’s verdict, as it conflicts with the overwhelming weight of scientific evidence and the consensus of regulatory bodies and their scientific assessments worldwide. We believe that we have strong arguments on appeal to get this verdict overturned and the excessive and unconstitutional damage awards eliminated or reduced. The court previously granted the majority of the company’s motion for a directed verdict finding that the plaintiff had failed to prove most of their causes of action in this case.
    "We continue to stand fully behind the safety of Roundup products - critical tools that farmers rely on to produce affordable food and feed the world."
  • Wiedenmann North America has named Jeremy Potestio as territory sales manager for the company's Midwest region. 
    Potestio has more than 11 years of experience in the golf and turf industry, previously specializing in Wiedenmann equipment sales with Potestio Brothers Equipment, a Colorado-based John Deere distributor. 
    His territory includes Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, along with Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
  • For more than 40 years, the name Bob Farren, CGCS, has been synonymous with golf at the highest level as well as mentoring the next generation of superintendents.
    As a result of his contributions to the game of golf and the turf management profession, Farren, who is director of golf course management at Pinehurst Resort,  has been named the recipient of the Carolinas Golf Course Superintendents Association Distinguished Service Award.
    Farren oversees agronomic conditions for all of Pinehurst's nine golf courses, as well as a par 3 course and 43,000-square-foot putting course.
    The award is the Carolina GCSA's highest honor and is presented annually by the 1,850-member association. Farren will accept the award in November at the Carolinas GCSA Conference and Trade Show in Myrtle Beach.
    News of the award came as a surprise to Farren, when it was announced before about 200 industry colleagues at the recent Southeast Region Conference at Pinehurst.
    "Bob Farren has been a beacon for our profession for longer than many of our members have been alive," said Carolinas GCSA president Alex Tolbert of Orangeburg (SC) Country Club. "For decades, he has been a leader, at his facility, across our region, and on the national stage. We all walk a little taller in our roles because of his efforts and his example."
    Farren officially began his career in golf course maintenance in 1979. He joined Pinehurst three years later and led the Carolinas GCSA as president in 1995. He has been a key figure in restoring Pinehurst's standing in the game, and since he arrived at the resort in 1982, its famed No. 2 course has been the site of the U.S. Open in 1999, 2004, 2014 and 2024. 
    Designated a U.S. Open "anchor site" by the USGA, Pinehurst No. 2 will be the host site of the tournament again in 2029, 2035, 2041 and 2047. The U.S. Women's Open was held at Pinehurst in 2014 and will return there in 2029.
    A native of Tornado, West Virginia, Farren grew up on the local golf course where his father worked. He is a graduate of Marshall University, where he studied hospitality.
    In his time at Pinehurst, he has been a regular speaker at industry events, and for most of the past 20 years has been active in networking and education events for assistant superintendents like the Green Start Academy. He credits his mother, who was a teacher, for helping foster the educator in him.
    "I get a sense that it's part of my mother's love of school-teaching and education," Farren told TurfNet in 2018. "And certainly the tutelage I had growing up and realizing the value and importance of having a mentor."

    Bob Farren, CGCS at Pinehurst Resort, will add the Carolinas GCSA Distinguished Service Award to his lengthy list of accolades. Farren also has overseen tremendous growth at Pinehurst as well as a return to the facility's rustic golf roots that includes a restoration of the Donald Ross-designed No. 2 course in advance of the U.S. Open and Women's Open played in concurrent weeks in 2014. 
    That restoration, led by the design team of Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore, included converting more than 40 acres of irrigated turf to native grasses, regrassing greens with heat- and drought-tolerant Champion Bermudagrass, eliminating overseeding throughout the property and bringing back a vintage appearance that more resembles what No. 2 looked like when Ross built it in 1907.
    Farren was inducted into the Carolinas Golf Association Hall of Fame in 2019 and was named the winner of the USGA Green Section Award in 2024.
    Previous recipients of the Carolinas GCSA Distinguished Service Award are: 2023 — Fred Yelverton, Ph.D.; 2022 — Danny Allen; 2021 — Rick Brandenburg, Ph.D.; 2019 — Steve Smith; 2019 — Wayne Smith, Jr.; 2018 — Bert McCarty, Ph.D.; 2017 — Will Holroyd; 2016 — Turner Revels; 2015 — Steve Sheets; 2014 — Michael Fabrizio, CGCS; 2013 — George Fisher; 2012 — Fred Meda; 2011 — Chuck Borman; 2010 — S. Bruce Martin, Ph.D.; 2009 — Patrick O'Brien; 2008 — William D. Anderson, CGCS; 2007 — Dr. Leon Lucas; 2006 — Randy Allen, CGCS; 2005 — Bob Bell; 2003 — Alton "Butch" Sheffield, CGCS; 2002 — James E. "Ernie" Hayes; 2001 — Palmer Maples Jr., CGSC; 2000 — George Thompson, CGCS; 1998 — Landon Miller, Ph.D.*; 1997 — Ed Ancherico; 1996 — Dr. Paul "Doc" Alexander; 1995 — James G. "Whitie" Wright*; 1994 — Wayne B. Smith, Sr.*; 1994 — Dr. Bill Gilbert*; 1993 — Dr. Carl Blake; 1993 — Charles P. Willimon, Sr.*; 1992 — Stanley Boarski, CGCS*; 1992 — Jim Spencer*; 1992 — Bob Hamrick*; 1992 — Bill Sutton*
    * Deceased
  • PBI-Gordon Corp. recently launched its new Field Development Team to serve customers and distributors nationwide.
    The team that consists of Brian Aynardi, Ph.D., Alan Estes and Kevin Miele will serve as an added resource to the PBI-Gordon end-users by providing:
    Training on new and existing products Product trials and demonstrations Consultation on emerging turfgrass issues Educational materials to end users Timely guidance on the control of problematic pests "The PBI-Gordon Field Development Team was developed with the specific needs of our end-users and distribution partners in mind," Aynardi said. "The diverse backgrounds and decades of experience in sales, research, distribution, and field application on our team gives us a well-rounded perspective on the industry. Through new and existing product training, new product trials and demonstrations, technical support, developing educational materials, and providing timely information for the control of problematic pests, we welcome opportunities to collaborate, consult, and solve."
     
    Aynardi is the regional director of the PBI-Gordon Field Development Team. He joined PBI-Gordon in 2016 as manager of university and contract research for the Northeast. His area of expertise is fungicides for both cold-season and warm-season grasses.

    Aynardi earned bachelor's and doctoral degrees in plant pathology from Penn State. There he gained extensive experience overseeing fungicide field trials and completed his dissertation on the biology of the dollar spot pathogens. Since joining PBI-Gordon, he has worked with the research and development team on the development of new active ingredients and next generation products in the company’s portfolio and has assisted with product training.
    Estes is the team's southeast field development representative. His territory covers all states from Virginia to Florida and west to Texas.
    He earned a bachelor's degree in horticulture and a master's in applied economics and statistics from Clemson, and specializes in herbicide resistance, and rates and timing of herbicide applications for weed management.
    Before joining PBI-Gordon in May 2024, Estes was the pesticide product registration manager at Clemson.
    Miele is the team's northeast field development representative, and  for the Field Development Team. His territory covers all states from Virginia north and west to the Chicago area.
    A former golf course superintendent, Miele earned a bachelor's degree in turf management and a master's in plant science from the University of Connecticut.
     
    Experienced in conducting fungicide trials and developing rotational programs for preventive turfgrass disease control, Miele has worked with a wide range of cool-season turfgrass species.
    Employee-owned PBI-Gordon offers a line of herbicides, fungicides, plant growth regulators and other products for the professional turfgrass market.
  • The association representing golf course superintendents in North and South Carolina will hand over almost $300,000 in grants for research projects to enhance the game's economic and environmental sustainability. 
    The Carolinas GCSA announced the grants during a recent conference at Pinehurst Resort.
    Money to fund the grants was raised in the annual Rounds 4 Research online auction where golfers buy tee times donated by golf facilities. Since creating the auction in 2008, the Carolinas GCSA has funded more than $850,000 in turfgrass research at Clemson and North Carolina State universities.
    "This money once again demonstrates that golf course superintendents want to be the best stewards we can possibly be, of the land we manage and of the resources we use in that work," said Daryl Ewing, the associations R4R chair and superintendent at Carolina Lakes Golf Club in Indian Land, South Carolina.
    Rounds 4 Research developed by the Carolinas GCSA at a time when traditional funding for turfgrass research was shrinking. The initiative is now administered by the GCSAA.

    Nearly $300,000 raised in the Rounds 4 Research program will help fund turfgrass research at North Carolina State University (above) and Clemson University. NCSU photo "At the time, we had some of the smartest minds at two of the leading turfgrass research institutions in the country in Clemson and NC State. Today, I am proud to say that we still do thanks in part to Rounds 4 Research," said Tim Kreger, the association's executive director. "Ultimately, the research this money pays for helps ensure the continued health of the Carolinas golf economy which is worth more than $7 billion annually."
    In the latest round of grants, projects approved for funding of a total of $286,846 will focus on soil quality testing in putting greens and methods to mitigate the impact of the turf diseases dollar spot and mini ring. The largest grant of almost $130,000 will fund a two-year study related to the health of water bodies on golf courses.
    One of the latest grant recipients is Jim Kerns, Ph.D., of North Carolina State University.
    "It's one of the reasons the programs at NC State and at Clemson are so successful. Because it not only provides an additional source of funding but one that, importantly, supports research to its conclusion," Kerns said. "The Carolinas GCSA is funding research at the level of, or above, the USGA and GCSAA."
    Last year, the Carolinas GCSA generated almost 350 items that went for as little as $40 for a foursome to as much as $10,000. 
    Said Kreger: "That only happens because superintendents at all those clubs and courses are making it happen."
  • A winter blast that swept through the South in January might be the gift that keeps giving throughout the playing season for some golf courses throughout the transition zone.
    That cold snap that lasted for much of January likely will result in at least some degree of winter-induced damage on golf courses from Oklahoma to North Carolina.
    Wendell Hutchens, Ph.D., assistant professor of turfgrass pathology at the University of Arkansas, spoke in January at a conference in Idaho. The weather he encountered when he returned to Fayetteville was not quite what he was expecting.
    "It's been a tough winter for us," said Wendell Hutchens, Ph.D., assistant professor of turfgrass pathology at the University of Arkansas.
    "When I flew back, it was 38 degrees in Idaho and 8 in Arkansas when I got back. It should have been the other way around."
    Hutchens said about 75 percent of the golf courses throughout Arkansas are growing Bermudagrass somewhere on the property. 
    The overnight low temperature in Little Rock was below freezing on 18 of 31 days in January. The deviation from the average temperature was more than 10 degrees below the historic norm on eight occasions, including a brutal stretch from Jan. 19-22 when overnight lows were 18, 13, 16 and 13 degrees, respectively.
    "We'll see what happens, but I think there will be some damage, especially to Bermudagrass," Hutchens said. "The severity is yet to be determined."
    Superintendents growing Bermuda should find out in the next few weeks if they have damage and how much.
    Areas that are especially susceptible to damage include high-traffic zones, north-facing slopes and areas with poor drainage.

    Cold weather in January could result in winter damage on golf courses in the transition zone. USGA photo The winter of 2022-23 has become the barometer by which other winters are measured. That was when temperatures in Knoxville, Tennessee dropped to 1 degree on Christmas Eve. That following spring revealed widespread damage on transition zone golf courses growing Bermudagrass.
    Two months ago in January, temps in Knoxville were below normal on 24 of 31 days and overnight lows dropped below freezing on 29 days, with lows of 8 and 4 degrees on Jan. 21 and 22, respectively.
    "I don't get the sense that this will be as bad as other years, but there are some people who are concerned going into spring," said Brandon Horvath, Ph.D., professor of turfgrass pathology at the University of Tennessee.
    "The areas that historically get whacked are going to be the slowest to recover."
    Horvath and Hutchens offered tips on next steps for superintendents worried about winter damage on Bermudagrass:
    Take samples with a cup cutter and store in a warm place to promote green-up and get a glimpse into whether winter damage is pending. For comparison, samples should be taken from areas that routinely have issues and areas that never do. "If a sample doesn't green-up in a couple weeks," Hutchens said, "it could be dead." Communicate with golfers, members and owners now about potential damage.  If damage is likely, consider ordering sod now to avoid delays or being shut out. Fix or repair areas that result in conditions that regularly promote winter damage. Do nothing. "The definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing and expect a different result," Horvath said. "Just keep beating your head against a wall." Some superintendents in Tennessee are interseeding Kentucky bluegrass into a Bermudagrass stand, for a hybrid program that gives them the best of both worlds — green turf in early spring and a healthy warm-season surface in summer.
    "It's a hybrid solution," Horvath said. "The superintendents I know who are doing that are very happy with how it works out."
    Hutchens emphasized the importance of preparing stakeholders for the worst, while hoping for the best. A key part of that messaging should include establishing member thresholds for damage.
    "You have to determine what the landscape looks like, and is the damage enough that they want to replant with sod or sprigs, or grow-in from existing turf," Hutchens said. "If the plan is to grow-in from existing turf, you have to get nitrogen out there quickly, and when you're clear of the last frost you'll want to aerify, verticut and topdress after finding out how bad the damage is going to be.
    "Superintendents should consider prepping membership for a worst-case scenario. It's always best to under-promise and over-deliver."
  • The 2025 Pest Control for Professional Turfgrass Managers guide for superintendents, sports turf managers, grounds managers and lawn care professionals is now available.
    The guide is published annually by the North Carolina State University turfgrass management department.
    The guide covers topics including:
    Insect control Weed control Herbicide mode of action Pre-emergent weed control in cool-season grasses Pre-emergent weed control in warm-season grasses Post-emergent broadleaf and grassy weed control Product guide Nematode management PGR for turfgrass Aquatic weed control The guide is authored by Terri Billeisen, Ph.D.; Lee Butler, Ph.D.; Travis Gannon, Ph.D.; Jim Kern, Ph.D.; Ramon Leon Gonzalez, Ph.D.; Ray McCauley, Ph.D.; Grady Miller, Ph.D.; and Robert Richardson, Ph.D., all of the North Carolina State turfgrass management department. 
    Published by the University of North Carolina Press, the 96-page guide is free as a downloadable PDF, or a paperback version is available for purchase for $14.
  • For superintendents and equipment managers focused on results and simplicity, Trimax Mowing Systems in December introduced its Snake S3 tow-behind rough mower.
    The Snake S3 is the latest version of the company's Snake line of mowers, and its features are designed to eliminate daily maintenance and enhance ease of use for a more hassle-free rough-mowing experience, the company says.
    Described by the company as a rough mower with the capability to perform as a fairway mower, the Snake S3 pairs with compact tractors and features advanced articulation and zero-turn capabilities. The three-deck Snake S3 also is outfitted with a Titan roller bearing system and maintenance-free wheel hubs that together eliminate the need for daily greasing, potentially reducing the cost of ownership.

    The three-deck Snake S3 also is outfitted with a Titan roller bearing system and maintenance-free wheel hubs that together eliminate the need for daily greasing. Trimax Mowing Systems photo The mower's heavy duty flanged LazerBladez pivot off sticks and rocks to help prevent blade damage and help maintain quality of cut under challenging and wet conditions. The blades can be sharpened while on the unit. The machine's deck and blade design optimizes airflow through the cutting unit to cleanly cut and distribute clippings.
    "It seems that the blades the machine uses create a very fine clipping, so then clippings are then very easily dispersed throughout the grass," said David Dore-Smith, superintendent at Copperleaf Golf Club in Bonita Springs, Florida in a TMS promotional video. "And we've found we don't need to follow behind the Snake with a dedicated blower and another employee to distribute the grass clippings throughout the golf course."
    Some of the features of the Snake S3 include:
    Full width rollers minimize scalping in undulating conditions, allowing for mowing over curbsides and bunkers, while leaving a premium striped finish. The Trimax Titan roller bearing system is maintenance-free, requiring no regular greasing, and provides excellent retention. QuikLIFT enables mowing decks to be raised slightly for traversing paths without the need to disengage the PTO. Zero-turn capability allows continuous cutting while turning sharply for maximum productivity. Heavy-duty LazerBladez feature fling-tip blades are easier and less expensive to maintain and replace than full-blade beams. Automatic belt tensioners eliminate the need for belt adjustments and provide consistent drive to the spindles and blades.
    Full-width rollers on the Snake 3 are designed to help minimize scalping. TMS photo Bryce Gibson, superintendent at Interlachen Country Club in Winter Park, Florida, also likes the way the Snake handles clippings and how it helps streamline early morning operations.
    "What we like the Trimax," Gibson said in the video, "is how fast it is, how much more fuel efficient it is with the tractor that we have hooked to it and also how quickly the clippings are dispersed so that we're spending less time cleaning up the golf course in front of member play."
    With headquarters in Tauranga, New Zealand, Trimax Mowing Systems was founded in 1981 for use in the kiwi fruit industry. More than a decade ago, its product portfolio has expanded to include golf and a wide range of other applications, including sports turf, sod farms, municipal grounds, polo and lawn care markets.
  • The song Tiny Bubbles first made Don Ho, and his listeners, happy back in 1967.
    Fast forward almost 50 years, and bubbles that are much smaller than those the Hawaiian crooner sang about are making golf course owners, operators and superintendents even happier.
    For the past four years, NanoOxygen Systems has been focused on improving water quality and turf conditions on golf courses by injecting oxygen and ozone into irrigation water. The result is better quality water that can help golf course superintendents grow a healthier plant while also using fewer inputs.
    Through cavitation, the company's technology infuses the entire water column with non-buoyant, ultrafine bubbles that are 200 nanometers (200 billionths of a meter) in size. Because the bubbles — which NanoOxygen describes as 500 times smaller than those that are found in a glass of beer — are non-buoyant, they remain in the water longer.

    World Golf Hall of Famer Jan Stephenson, here with magician Kevin Dawson at this years GCSAA Conference and Show, is a believer in using ultrafine bubbles to improve water and turf quality at her Tarpon Woods Golf Club in Palm Harbor, Florida. Photo by John Reitman Founded by Ron Pote, a chemical engineer by trade, the NanoOxygen Systems technology works by forcing water through a series of cavitation chambers and shear planes. A controlled endothermic reaction inside the chambers produces microscopic nano bubbles that are smaller than a virus at a rate of 240 million per gallon of water.
    The NanoOxygen service begins with an assessment of irrigation pond water quality, including depth, oxygen content and sediment. 
    Those who use the technology in their irrigation ponds say the water becomes clearer, turf is healthier and requires less water and chemical inputs. Plant and other aquatic life also thrive in that environment, Pote says.
    The system has been shown to produce results that include:
    Eliminate irrigation pond sediment. Eliminate algae blooms. Reduce pathogens. Restore aquatic system health. Increase plant respiration. Reduced chemical and water costs. Some of the benefits users have reported in turfgrass systems include:
    Increase in root length and root mass. Improved respiration and overall plant health. Improved translocation of active ingredients i.e. fungicides, insecticides etc. Improved uptake and translocation of nutrients. Improved growing environment for beneficial bacteria, fungi in the soil. Improved water penetration observations. Improved stress tolerance and reduced disease. As the owner of Tarpon Woods Golf Club in Palm Harbor, Florida, World Golf Hall of Famer Jan Stephenson has been a NanoOxygen customer for more than two years.

    NanoOxygen Systems uses ultrafine bubbles to improve water and turf quality on golf courses. NanoOxygen Systems photo Rainwater contains 7-10 ppm of dissolved oxygen. The levels of dissolved oxygen in the irrigation pond at Tarpon Woods was maybe half that two years ago, Stephenson said. Since using the NanoOxygen Systems technology, she says water in the irrigation pond at Tarpon Woods is double that found in rainwater. The water in the pond is clearer, and Stephenson said the increased water quality has had lasting effects on the golf course where it brings the dissolved oxygen to the plant.
    The turf there is healthier because of improved irrigation water quality, says Stephenson, and thus requires less water and fewer chemical inputs.
    Stephenson has been so impressed with the results, she was a booth ambassador for the technology at this year's GCSAA Conference and Trade Show.
    "We're using less water," Stephenson said. "Water use is down about 20 percent."
  • To help superintendents find solutions to common turfgrass management challenges faster and more efficiently, Syngenta recently launched its GreenCast Connect mobile app.
    GreenCast Connect offers three levels of access for users. 
    The free Basic tier features site-specific weather and pest-alert tools including the Smith-Kerns dollar spot model. 
    It also includes a disease and pest guide with recommended product solutions for each, a guide for Syngenta products complete with all label and SDS information, tank mix calculator and geographic specific support.
    The Advanced subscription-based version includes enhanced pest alerts and Growing Degree Day trackers, and the Pro tier integrates seamlessly with Spiio soil sensors to provide a comprehensive, all-in-one digital agronomy solution.
    The app's customizable dashboard ensures that data, predictions and recommendations are always at users' fingertips.
    "GreenCast Connect represents a significant leap forward in digital agronomy," said Steve Dorer, head of Syngenta digital platforms. "By putting powerful, real-time data and analytics directly into the hands of turf professionals, we're enabling enhanced decision-making and more efficient resource management."
    Key features of the GreenCast app include:
    Forecasting: Accurate, GPS-based predictions for weather, pest activity, turf growth and soil conditions. Alerting: Customizable notifications for severe weather events, pest risks and changes in soil conditions. Tracking: Advanced models to monitor and predict risks from diseases, weeds and insects. Scouting: Capture photos and take notes on-site to document turf health and growth progress. Sensing: Real-time readings from Spiio in-ground soil sensors, including soil moisture, temperature, salinity and light. Monitoring: Tailored insights such as severe weather events, pest risks, spray windows, net water gain/loss, evapotranspiration, GDD alerts and growth potential.  "The ability to access live, location-specific data from our mobile devices is a game-changer for turf professionals," said Scott White, marketing manager for Syngenta digital platforms. "GreenCast Connect is built with the needs of today's turf and landscape professionals in mind, providing them with an actionable tool to optimize performance, reduce costs and improve turf health across all types of landscapes."
    GreenCast Connect is available on the Apple App Store and on Google Play.
  • For more than two decades, the face of many golf courses across North America has changed thanks to an invasive pest no larger than a dime.  
    Since it was detected in southeastern Michigan in 2002 after arriving in Detroit in packing material aboard a cargo ship from China, the emerald ash borer has cut a swath of devastation across the continent, and has left a trail of millions of dead ash trees in its wake, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service.
    Finally, help is on the way that might prevent a virtual wipeout of ash trees across North America by the emerald ash borer, and could result in repopulating forests and other areas, including affected golf courses, with naturally resistant trees.
    In 2010, U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service officials in Ohio identified healthy ash trees scattered in an area populated with other dead, dying and infected trees. They wondered why some trees remained viable among such widespread devastation. Ensuing research indicates that those trees exhibited natural immunity to the ash borer. 
    That research has led to scientists cloning trees from the most resistant stock that they hope can be used to repopulate forests that have been decimated during the past two-plus decades.
    The cloned trees exhibited increased resistance to EAB, compared with parent trees, with some even killing the larvae, a finding that has surprised forestry officials.
    "The mantra at the time was no co-evolution, no resistance, meaning that since this insect was from a whole other continent and our trees didn't grow up exposed to them that they didn't evolve any sort of mechanisms to defend themselves," U.S. Forest Service geneticist Jennifer Koch, Ph.D., told PBS in Detroit. 
    "Now, we're convinced (cloning resistant trees) works."
    Adult ash borers lay their eggs in the tree's cambium layer between the bark and the wood. Larvae hatch and as they feed create a series of tunnels and channels through the cambium layer, cutting off the tree's circulatory system and preventing the flow of water and nutrients. 
    To date, EAB has been confirmed in 38 U.S. states and five provinces in Canada. Adult EAB can fly only a short way. Their main mode of transportation is as a stow away in infested firewood. 
    EAB recently was detected in Oregon's Willamette Valley, and researchers at Oregon State University in Corvallis wrote that the pest "will likely kill most of the ash trees in forests and urban plantings in Oregon over the coming decades."
    Researchers at Penn State, however, believe that there is enough genetic diversity in the Oregon ash that it too can be used to breed naturally resistant trees. The Oregon ash populates forests from California to Canada.

    Scientists are busy researching ash trees that are naturally resistant to EAB, and hope they can use the stock to replenish areas that have been depleted during the past 20-plus years. University of Minnesota photo Koch said reforesting could begin in the next decade, however, the USFS will have to identify geo-specific resistant parent trees to maximize the chances of success. 
    "We're working with trees from Ohio and Michigan, so I can't take those trees and the resistance they produce and plant them all the way down to Mississippi. They won't be adapted to grow there," Koch told PBS. "So we have to do what we're doing over and over to make seed orchards for each separate region."
    The USFS needs help, however, identifying other resistant trees for potential parents.
    "We need other people out there who are in the forest, keeping an eye open looking for large, surviving, healthy ash trees," said Kathleen Knight, Ph.D., research ecologist with the USFS. "Because there's not enough of us to survey every forest and there are a lot of important trees out there that could be missed if people aren't watching out for them."
  • The University of Wisconsin has been a leader for decades in providing future turf managers with all the tools needed for success with traditional, degree-based education.
    Today, the university also is playing a leading role in helping those seeking a turf management education without investing the time and finances required in a conventional baccalaureate program.
    The university's turf department recently wrapped up version three and opened registration for the fourth edition of its turfgrass apprenticeship program, an accelerated track that helps prepare students for careers in turf through a curriculum consisting of two 12-week sessions of in-class instruction and a traditional internship. The apprenticeship was developed by University of Wisconsin professors Paul Koch, Ph.D., and Doug Soldat, Ph.D., in collaboration with the Wisconsin Golf Course Superintendent's Association.  
    "Every time Doug Soldat and I would visit a golf course, nobody wanted to talk about diseases, or turfgrass. They wanted to talk about labor," Koch said. "We didn't have as many students and they wanted to know where their next assistant was going to come from and what we were doing to address that."

    The University of Wisconsin recently completed the third year of an apprenticeship program that helps prepare students for careers in turf management on a compressed timeline. UW photo Courses that are taught are:
    Intro to Turfgrass Management (fall semester) Intro to Turfgrass Soils, Irrigation and Drainage (fall) Nutrient Management (winter) Integrated Pest Management (winter) Classroom instruction is taught by Soldat and Koch. The fall term runs from early November to mid-December. The winter session begins in mid-January and ends in late February. Students then are required to complete a field-based apprenticeship at a golf course, athletic complex or other turf management facility. Registration for the next session begins Saturday.
    Many of the students in the apprenticeship program already are working at a golf course, but lack the education needed to advance their careers.
    "Some have already been working at a golf course for five, six or seven years, and want to take that next step that wouldn't be available to them without some education," Koch said. "Some are right out of high school, and some have a B.S. degree in something else and are career-changers.
    "Since many of these students already work on a golf course, this is more about identifying someone on your team who has potential and helping them develop that talent."
    To date, the program has graduated about 55 students. Most come from inside Wisconsin, but it also attracts students from Minnesota and the Chicago area.
    "I mean I never really had any of the formal education we get with the (apprenticeship) program," Brad Young, a graduate of the program, said in a video promoting the apprenticeship program. "It's here you learn the sciences, you learn the grasses, you learn the soils, you learn practices."

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